Getting Started With Leca

Leca, Lightweight expanded clay aggregate, are baked clay balls that make watering your plants much easier. But how can you get started? What do you need to know? You'll find all the answers here!

What is Leca?

Before we can get started with Leca, we should first ask the question: What is Leca? When you want to use Leca for your houseplants it's important to know what it is and what it's not.

Simply put, Leca is a collection baked clay balls that soak up moisture to water your plants consistently.

Find out more about Leca

Why should you use Leca?

Leca is great to make watering your plants easier. Leca helps you to water your plants more consistently and helps you to prevent overwatering your plants.

You can grow your plants in Leca without mixing it with soil, this is called semi-hydroponics. When you don't use soil to grow your plants, you have less risk of attracting pests.

Can you grow any plant in Leca?

Unfortunately, you can't grow any type of plant in Leca. Plants that have very thin roots (succulents, cacti, etc.), plants that need a lot of nutrients from the soil (Crotons), and plants that need moist soil (Peace Lily) don't do very well in Leca.

More about which plants can grow in Leca

Do you have to wash Leca before use?

When you're getting a fresh bag of clay balls from your plant shop, there will be a lot of dust in the bag: clay dust. You need to wash this off before you grow your plants in it.

You will only have to wash the dust of once: when you use the Leca for the very first time. Washing the dust off can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and will take a few rounds of cleaning.

What pots do you need to grow your plants in Leca?

You'll need pots that can hold water when you're growing your plants in Leca. You probably have a few pots with drainage holes for your plants growing in soil. These are great for use with soil, but you can't use them with Leca.

If you want to use Leca to grow your plants, you'll need pots that can hold water, because the clay balls need to absorb the moisture at the bottom of the pot.

Cleaning your pots and keeping soil away is one of the most important parts of a healthy plant in Leca.

How do you grow a plant in Leca?

Growing your plants in Leca isn't very different compared to growing your plants in soil. Your plant still needs water and sunlight. The biggest difference is how you fertilize your plants.

When your plant grows in Leca, you have to fertilize it every time you water it. You need to use special hydroponics fertilizer for this, as normal plant fertilizer is a supplement to the nutrients in the soil.

How do you water a plant growing in Leca?

You know that the clay balls need to soak up the water at the bottom of the pot, so how do you water plants in Leca?

You water plants in Leca by adding hydroponics fertilizer to the water and watering your plant by pouring a layer of water in the pot.

Can you reuse the Leca balls?

Unlike soil, you can reuse the clay balls many times. However, you do have to take care of the clay balls properly. You can take care of them properly by washing them thoroughly before using them with a new plant.

The clay balls can't go bad and adding fertilizer to the water doesn't ruin the clay balls. When the balls are dirty, you can wash them with hot water and they're as good as new.

Can you mix Leca with soil to grow your houseplants?

You can use Leca on its own, but you can also use it combined with soil. You can use it for multiple purposes, including: Adding a drainage layer to prevent root rot, improving drainage of your soil, and giving your soil some extra structure to help it stay light and let through enough oxygen.

Leca has a lot of uses. Whether you use it on its own to grow your plants or combine it with soil to help your plant be happy. Leca is something you should look at for your next plant project.